Pakistan vs West Indies T20: Series win first step towards team building for skipper Sarfraz Ahmed

Abu Dhabi: Pakistan's Twenty20 captain Sarfraz Ahmed believes the clean sweep over world champions West Indies is the first step towards building a formidable outfit for the future.

Pakistan blanked West Indies 3-0 in the Twenty20 series with another dominating eight wicket win in the third and final match in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. They had won the first two matches by nine wickets and 16 runs in Dubai.

Ahmed said the win will go a long way towards establishing a Twenty20 team, struggling after being ousted in the first round of the World Twenty20 held in India in March-April this year.

Pakistan players celebrate taking a wicket during the T20I match against West Indies. AFP

That forced the then skipper Shahid Afridi to step down and Ahmed was handed over the leadership, who won all four matches — also beating England at Manchester earlier this month.

"Of course, this is the first step towards building a new team," said Ahmed. "If we want to become a good team then we have to bring consistency. Both junior and senior players are performing and contributing and that is the sign of a good team."

Left-arm spinner Imad Wasim, declared man-of-the-series for his nine wickets, rocked the West Indies top order with figures of three for 21. West Indies below par total of 103-5 was never a bother for Pakistan, who chased down the target in 15.1 overs for the loss of two wickets.

All did not go well for the West Indies after winning the World Twenty20 title. Championship winning captain Darren Sammy was replaced by Carlos Brathwaite, while successful coach Phil Simmons was sacked.

Ahmed admitted a 3-0 win wasn't expected before the series. "We didn't estimate we would win 3-0," said Ahmed. "But I will give full credit to the boys for doing everything better than them and that's why we have won the series."

Ahmed said he was enjoying the captaincy. "It's nice to see seniors and juniors cooperating and contributing. It's a combination of juniors and seniors and I am enjoying it as a leader," he said.

Pakistan and West Indies will now play three one-day internationals with the first game in Sharjah on Friday. The one-day internationals will be followed by three Tests, the first a day-night game in Dubai from 13 October.